Bucatini all’Amatriciana and quatre Épices

By Shahir Massoud & Jasmin Ibrahim

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Italy and France collide in this recipe! The classic pasta dish of bucatini with amatriciana sauce is lifted by the French spice blend of white pepper, nutmeg, ginger and cloves to make a dish everyone will agree is both molto delizioso and très dél

YIELDS

20 Mins

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (30 ml) ground white pepper
1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground ginger
1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground cloves
9 ounces (255 g) guanciale, cubed
1 bird’s eye chili pepper, minced
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
1 x 28-ounce (796 ml) can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
Salt, to season
1 pound (454 g) bucatini
4 ounces (114 g) Pecorino Romano, finely grated, plus more for garnish
Italian parsley, chopped to garnish
Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

Make the Quatre Épices by combining the white pepper, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves together and mixing until well combined. Set aside, in an airtight container, until needed.
Add guanciale to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Fry, stirring, until guanciale is slightly browned, five to six minutes.
Carefully remove half the rendered fat from the pan and discard.
Add chilli pepper and cook for one to two minutes.
Add white wine and cook until the wine has mostly evaporated three to four minutes.
Add tomatoes to the skillet.
Add one tablespoon (15 ml) of the Quatre Épices mixture to the skillet and season with salt.
Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for three to four minutes.
In the meantime, bring a pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil.
Add bucatini to water and cook until just al dente, roughly two minutes shy of package directions.
Strain, reserving half a cup (120 ml) of pasta water, then add pasta to skillet and toss well with guanciale and tomato sauce.
Swirl in the pasta water and remove the skillet from the heat.
Add Pecorino off the heat and toss vigorously to combine for a silky sauce.
Transfer pasta to serving plates, and top with a little more sauce, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Garnish with Pecorino Romano and chopped parsley.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!